Evan D. Sherden. Levels Up (2)
[You have evolved to level 2. Each step you take from now on will leave two prints in the sands of time.]
"Oh! Oh wow!"
Shine felt marvellous.
He had felt a fundamental change within the physique of his fragile body. His prior performance had barely improved by striving, and he could remember the countless times he had almost overworked himself to death while constantly practising countless new techniques.
'Woah.'
He couldn't necessarily call it a change. At best, his body, which had been deformed so far, was slowly returning to its original state.
His heart, which had been thumping and hurting in his chest so far, began to supply blood more smoothly. The bones that had been displaced or were either broken had reformed. During this process, he finally realized how twisted his body had been.
'If I hadn't learned to move and use my body efficiently from the butler, would I have been able to withstand this at such an age?'
In the process, Shine realized how he had been exposed to dangerous environments before coming to the Marquis. He was thankful to Evan for having cared for him. Tears welled up in his eyes.
All the negative effects on his body due to learning different techniques such as double swordsmanship and butler skills, and even physical fitness learned from Evan amongst others, had been resolved to some extent. Of course, his body hadn't been completely converted to a plus, but even then, this was a huge difference from his previous form.
'I think I'm a little stronger now than before,'?Shine thought satisfactorily. He swung a dagger in the air several times. It felt light as if his body had taken off a heavy load.
Evan simply said that the efficiency of levelling up was twice that of their normal levels. Shine wouldn't have believed it until he experienced a sudden boost in his body development.
The change had been greatly dramatic because his body had been originally too weak. If the time to defeat an enemy was to be measured, then Shine thought he could've achieved it within 10 seconds only. Above all, as Evan had indicated, his HP and stamina had also increased significantly. His instincts were much sharper now.
Until now, his limits had barely increased, but now they had amplified at once. The pleasure he felt at that moment was indescribably great.
At the same time, he felt a thirst for power.
'I want to grow more. I want to go down deeper into the dungeon. I want to become stronger. Even more than Master Evan.'
A hot flame burned in Shine's chest. Evan had said he wanted to proceed to the 5th floor, and Shine was already convinced that it was possible for them. He felt as if he was born again.
[You have evolved to level 2. You won't feel tired for the next three days.]
Belois gently closed her eyes and enjoyed the changes taking place inside her.
She wasn't really strong when it came to physical abilities, so she didn't feel the improvements as intensely as Shine, but she was happy that her body was evolving excellently.
'My mana capacity, which had felt like a small puddle until now, is like a flowing spring… It might even have expanded to the size of an ocean.'
The magical capacity inside her body that received, stored, produced, and controlled mana and which was the fountain of mana, had greatly increased. She couldn't tell Evan how much effort she had mustered to manage this tiny spring water efficiently!
Desperately having clung to the lamp training until now, her ability to use magic powers had grown greatly to unspeakable proportions.
Evan had said there wouldn't be that much of a change in the degree to which their levels would rise once, but she thought that wasn't the case. She was convinced that she was more than two times stronger than she had been before.
"Whew."
She took a deep breath and created a ball of fire. It was somehow easier to create fireballs than even breathing, thanks to the rapid growth of the basic skills in mana handling.
Then she suddenly wondered if it would be possible for her to create and maintain two fireballs at once. It was something she wouldn't even think of until now, but now she felt like it would be possible.
'Witches are people who have complete control over their Chi. That's why they can deal with fire and ice at the same time.'
After guiding her upon the ways of a witch, Redine D. Sherden had said so. Sure enough, Belois seemed to finally understand her words a little.
Evan had said she could only summon one fireball unless she became a secondary magician… Belois cleared all of her worries for now and summoned a second fireball. It wasn't that difficult either. She thought it would be even possible for her to summon a third Fox Fire if she tried a little more in the future.
"Young Master, I…"
Evan's predictions, which had yet to be proven wrong, once again came true.
Raihan was happy to have tagged along, and he was glad to be able to show evidence of his growth in front of Evan… But in the next moment, he was speechless.
[You have evolved to level 2. Your cleansing karma, which broke the chain of hatred accumulating for hundreds of years, has indeed lifted the curse which pleased me. Brave warrior, I will give you a new ability, 'Patience Shield'.]
[The more you block attacks without attacking the enemy, the heavier and harder your shield will become. If you can please me again in the distant days, then I will give you a more powerful ability, which can be paired with this one.]
The message that Raihan had heard and the change he experienced was quite different from that of Shine and Belois. The reason was clear. This was because he had made a special achievement in the process of exploring the dungeon.
'If you do great things, great results will follow.'
Indeed they did, Evan thought.
Everyone who had some knowledge about the dungeon thought that no one would be lucky enough to obtain new skills at only dungeon level 2, but in fact, the secret that Evan had discovered in the dungeon today was so unique that it was natural for them to receive such rewards. They were enough for the time being.
[That place was particularly cursed in the dungeon. A certain amount of monsters were created intermittently, but there was no place for them to escape, so among them, a mutant was born. And it was too dangerous to have existed on a low-level floor.]
[Not only did it kill the monsters that had lived there for decades and grew horribly, but also purged the space which was stained with the curse. But it will not happen again in the future. This is a great achievement, so you should feel proud of yourself.]
Raihan had no time to focus on the contents of the message he had heard. As knowledge of new skills poured into his brain, it seemed that his soul was going to escape in this process at any time now.
'I have to focus. Concentrate…!'
Raihan deeply indulged and reflected on the skills engraved in his mind. It wasn't difficult to understand the skills knowledge. That he was sure of, but it was difficult to explain it to others as this ability had been naturally granted to him alone.
'It's an unusual buff skill that increases my defence every time I block attacks with the shield in succession. If I attack the enemy in the middle of the battle, the buff will be cut off, but the move will be useless because I won't be able to hit the enemy anyway.'
'I don't know which God to thank for giving me this ability.'
When God blessed Raihan, the background noise ended up blurring the words.
But whatever had happened, it turned out good for him. He was grateful to God for his new ability. With it, Raihan would be able to help the others protect Evan in the future. He would also be able to face more enemies, and he wouldn't easily fall, too.
"God had said that if I was able to achieve more accomplishments, He would give me even more power than this."
If he told Evan of the abilities he had added, he would surely rejoice with Raihan.
Speaking of Evan…
"Y-Young Master!? Where did Master Evan go!?"
Evan wasn't there among them!
"Brother doesn't know!? Wow, you must be going crazy. Master was obviously in front of you a while ago! Hey Belois, don't go searching for him alone!"
Immediately after realizing Evan's absence, Shine held on to Belois, who was trying to search for him. Shine sighed as he looked at Belois, as neither of them had any idea about what to do.
He was very anxious, but seeing Belois, who was more distressed than himself, strangely calmed him down. His thoughts, which had been divided into quarters, logically assembled again, and he reached a rational answer.
"Master Evan isn't one of those people who would leave us alone and go somewhere."
"Then where is he?"
"If there are no other external factors, then there would be only one reason for his disappearance."
At Shine's words, Raihan nodded and tried to calm down.
"I've also heard of it. Sometimes, every few decades, among those who explore the higher floors, and have unlocked a great achievement, a person is 'called to God'."
"Alright but… Can he come back?"
"Of course. But I heard that no one ever talked about what kind of conversation they had with God. So, if Master Evan appears again, leave him alone and don't ask him anything…"
As soon as Raihan said those words, Evan appeared in front of them out of thin air. That pretty face of his was so crumpled that everyone was worried about what had happened to him.
"I know I shouldn't be asking this Master but if I may… Nevertheless, it is very fortunate that you were able to come back safely," Belois desperately tried to suppress her thoughts while muttering quietly. Evan held her hand and squeezed it.
"No, I'm weak. And why do you keep saying that I am so strong?! It's annoying. Have I only gathered fools who don't know what real power is? I can't understand."
"…."
"…."
"…."
While the other two were silent, Belois finally asked him.
"What… What exactly happened there, Master?"
"When I woke up Belois, it was very bright everywhere. There were thousands of light blocks floating there in that gigantic space. It seemed like they were gossiping with each other when one of them noticed me and started talking to me. I listened to it quietly and in the end, he gave me a new ability."
"Does this mean that Master also gained new abilities!?"
"What do you mean? Did you guys also acquire new skills?"
Evan couldn't believe that just by clearing the first floor of the dungeon, all of them had already been blessed with new skills! Shine and Belois nodded at Evan, who was astonished.
Shine's physique had improved in miraculous ways while two Fox Fires were swirling around Belois, and both of them seemed to have become quite strong with only one level up. Even if Belois hadn't told him about them, he would have still guessed that the power of God had enhanced the Fox Fire skill.
"What I have gained is the ability of 'Patience Shield.' While this skill is active, I cannot attack, but instead, the ability of the shield increases every time I block an attack from someone."
"Oh, so it's a buff that overlaps the effects, depending on the action. That's like the perfect skill for you, brother. Then let's test our brother's skill on the second floor."
"What skill did you get Master Evan…?"
"Ah… Well."
Evan frowned. It was too late by the time the party found out that the ability he had gained was a rather poor one.
"It's called 'Heaven Press.' That… It's a skill that gives me a very strong grip."
Why the hell was it even called 'Heaven Press'? Was it because by holding or gripping something tightly, he could burst it into non-existence?
Evan didn't know for sure, and he didn't even want to know. What could he even send to heaven with this kind of ability?
"Hmm…"
"Congratulations, Master."
"Then what are you going to do with this ability, Master? Will you be crushing slimes with them?"
Raihan groaned and Belois congratulated him while Shine asked him honestly.
Evan spoke in a dry voice, turning around without bothering to give any reply to Shine.
"Let's just go to the second floor."